Duct Tape Used on Baby in Day Care

HUDSON, Mass. — The director of a day care center duct-taped an 8-month-old girl to a wall, thinking the sight of the struggling baby was funny, state officials reported.

The director of A Place to Grow in suburban Boston later admitted to the incident, the Office for Child Care Services said in a 12-page report issued this week. The center's license was suspended last week.

The report also said state investigators found that babies were force-fed and swaddled so tightly that they had red marks. Some infants allegedly got a blast of water in the face if they cried.

"At least one staff member stated that the director and the staff would get 'a kick out of doing that,' " the state said.

The center's owner, Suzanne Foley, said she has fired the director and two other staffers and is filing an appeal to win back her license.

"I take my responsibility . . . very seriously," Foley wrote Monday in a letter to parents obtained by the MetroWest Daily News. "Anything below the highest standard of care for our children will not be tolerated."

The state report said the director had talked with a parent about how duct tape "works on everything" and wondered if it would make an infant stick to the wall.

The next afternoon, a staff member saw the director placing duct tape on the infant's arms and waist and sticking her to the wall. The infant was taken down after she freed one of her arms.